The biggest difference from Western capitalist countries is that, as an extension of government functions, radio stations, television stations, newspapers, magazines and other news media at all levels, whose main function is to serve socialist ideology, must closely focus on the central work of the Party committee and the government in every word and action, and promptly and accurately convey the Party and government's lines, principles, policies and laws and regulations to the broad masses of the people, play a correct role in guiding public opinion, create a good propaganda atmosphere, and truly become the mouthpiece of communication between the Party committee, the government and the masses.
And what is a mouthpiece
Adhering to the will of the superiors, disseminating policies, influencing public opinion, strengthening norms, and maintaining stability, this is the mouthpiece!
As a member of the Municipal Party Committee and Minister of Propaganda, Wei Chenfeng was responsible for specific propaganda work. This time, he ignored the Municipal Party Committee and unilaterally created and influenced public opinion, thereby mobilizing public opinion to put pressure on the investigation team including Xu Fuyan. This completely violated the official media's function as a mouthpiece and pushed himself to the forefront.
But for him personally, this risk was necessary. The Qinghua Factory case was an internal cause, and Wei Gang's arrest was an external cause. What's worse, Wei Gang had evidence of his corruption and bribery, so he had to take the risk and fight back fiercely. The officialdom is like a battlefield. Sometimes taking a step back will not only not make the world a better place, but it may also make it impossible to turn things around.
After Zhou Yuanting received Wei Chenfeng's call, he was silent for a long time, and finally nodded to agree to let him do it. However, publishing a few editorials and organizing discussions cannot be said to violate the principle. It is better to test Xu Fuyan's bottom line and layout, whether it is to startle the snake or to throw a stone to test the water, than to do nothing and wait foolishly for someone to put a knife on your neck.
Wei Chenfeng got Zhou Yuanting's consent, which was like taking a reassurance pill, and resolutely let go and do it boldly. Although the investigation team has entered Qingzhou, the main leaders of the province have not yet made a clear statement. This ambiguous attitude shows that there are differences among the upper level, and differences give opportunities to take advantage of. As long as it does not go to the province, in Qingzhou, even if Xu Fuyan is furious about the public opinion, he can't do anything about it.
The Standing Committee, he has no say!
So this time the Standing Committee was suddenly convened, and Zhou's people gathered together to discuss the whole night. The conclusions they came to were nothing more than two points. One was that the investigation team had made significant progress, and Xu Fuyan wanted to report the news at the Standing Committee, or he might want to arrest someone to establish his authority. From ancient times to the present, holding meetings and arresting people is the best way to paralyze the enemy and disarm, without a doubt; the other was that the public opinion had deviated from his plan, and he needed to correct the chaos and adjust Wei Chenfeng's job arrangement.
But if it is the first point, Xu Fuyan is afraid that he does not have such great courage, and there is no news from there, it is impossible for him to suddenly reach the level of the Municipal Party Committee Standing Committee; the second point is very likely, but what puzzles Zhou's people is that Xu Fuyan has been in Qingzhou for more than half a year, and the only title he got at the Standing Committee is the title of Secretary of Raising Hands, nothing else. Even if today is different from the past, the Secretary of Raising Hands has the support of Yang Guangsheng, Niu Guiqing, Feng Wenxue and Liu Hongjian, the Standing Committee only has five votes, and it is impossible to have an advantage. No matter how high the hand is raised, it can't change anything, it's just self-humiliation!
Everyone was puzzled all night, and when they heard Xu Fuyan suddenly mention the issue of public opinion, they were all shocked. Wei Chenfeng sneered in his heart. Everything in the Standing Committee was fake, only the votes were real. He didn't believe that Xu Fuyan had a way to overthrow him.
"I read the editorial in Qingzhou Daily. The author's writing skills are quite good, but," Xu Fuyan put his hands on the table, leaned forward slightly, and slowly swept the crowd with a deep and cold gaze. Seeing Zhou Yuanting pause, he finally fixed his gaze on Wei Chenfeng's face. He suddenly slammed the table and said angrily, "He is even better at generalizing and quoting out of context! What is the Qinghua Plant? It involves the future and families of more than 3,000 employees, the overall situation of Qingzhou's reform and opening up, and even more so the faces of those of us present here and the six million people of Qingzhou! If we are not careful, we may be pushed to the edge of a cliff. In this matter, no matter how careful we are, it is not too much! How much information did a reporter consult, how many people did he ask, and did he do any investigation and research? Assuming it for granted, slapping your forehead, and writing an article, do you know how much passiveness it will cause to our work? Minister Wei, your propaganda department is so unorganized and undisciplined. Is the five-review system of Qingzhou Daily just a formality and a window dressing?"
This was the first time Xu Fuyan had lost his temper since he came to Qingzhou, and the entire conference room was shaken to the point where a pin drop could be heard. The standing committee members, who were used to seeing Xu Fuyan smiling, nodding, and then raising their hands in agreement, were all stunned. It was not surprising that everyone in the officialdom had many faces. What was strange was that Xu Fuyan had such an outburst. If he failed to achieve his intended goal, it would be a fatal blow to his already weak prestige if it got out.
But looking at his expression of joy and anger, where is the deep and cunning mansion of a superior? It seems that everyone is overthinking it. Xu Fuyan must be in a state of panic!
You can’t control the Standing Committee by losing your temper!
Zhou Yuanting glanced at Wei Chenfeng indifferently, and Wei Chenfeng immediately understood and said, "The editorial in Qingzhou Daily was written by a young lecturer from Qingshi College as a special commentator. He has always had unique insights on current affairs and hot issues, and his writing style is sharp and his comments are profound, which is very popular with the public. So this time, the review may not have been conducted in a specific way, and an empiricist error was made; on the other hand, the editors of the newspaper lacked a grasp of the overall situation in Qingzhou and were not sensitive to political events, and did not estimate the seriousness of the problem, which led to this incident. I have severely criticized them, ordered them to make rectifications, organized internal discussions, and made in-depth inspections..."
These words could be said to be a slap in the face to Xu Fuyan. Facing the questioning of the top leader, instead of admitting his mistakes with fear and trepidation, he put all the blame on the people below him with solid reasoning and even regarded a simple sentence of thorough self-examination as the ultimate punishment.
The attitude is so bad that if it were the otakus of later generations, they would only be able to think of two words: awesome!
There are propaganda ministers in the whole country who have the confidence to speak to the municipal party secretary in this way, but Wei Chenfeng is definitely not one of them.
Xu Fuyan suddenly calmed down, and his expression did not change. As the secretary of the municipal party committee, he would lose his status and momentum if he argued with Wei Chenfeng again. Niu Guiqing knew it was his turn to take the stage, so he coughed and said, "I suggest that this lecturer should be suspended from teaching first, and the Discipline Inspection Commission can intervene to investigate to see if he has any deeper reasons, whether he was instructed by someone, or has other purposes?"
Wang Lin, who had been stroking his teacup, frowned and said, "It's just an article. If you are being nerdy, just criticize it. There's no need to make a big deal out of it."
Feng Wenxue laughed and said, "Old Wang, you don't understand this. The scholar is real, but can a fool write such an article? I agree with Secretary Niu's opinion."
Liu Hongjian said: "Yes, let's check it out. It would be best if there is no problem. If there is a problem, it should be solved in time to avoid being put in a passive position again."
Sun Ning was the deputy mayor in charge of education. Seeing that everyone's eyes were focused on him, he put down the document he had been flipping through and said, "Qingshi is a provincial-level institution. It is feasible to make suggestions, but we are not qualified to issue an administrative order to suspend classes."
It seemed that Zhou's faction had the upper hand in this debate, but in fact, Xu's faction used the opponent's strength to successfully dissolve Wei Chenfeng's sophistry. Xu Fuyan knew that he could not delay any longer. When Zhou Yuanting reacted, he might find a way to stop the vote. He waved his hand and said, "In addition to the daily newspaper, there are also radio stations, television stations and other media. The case of the Qinghua Factory has not yet been concluded, but they have hastily published biased remarks, completely ignoring the good situation of stability and unity in Qingzhou. The party style and political discipline are seriously corrupted. In view of this, I think Comrade Wei Chenfeng is no longer suitable to be the Minister of Propaganda and be responsible for the work of the Propaganda Department. Secretary Feng has solid theoretical knowledge and is good at handling various complex issues. His control and understanding of the overall situation are sufficient to cope with the current situation. I propose to remove Comrade Wei Chenfeng from the position of Minister of Propaganda and no longer be in charge of propaganda, spiritual civilization construction, news, publishing, and the work of the Federation of Literary and Art Circles and the Federation of Social Sciences. The specific division of labor will be discussed later. Secretary Feng will temporarily take charge of propaganda work, do a good job in public opinion guidance and media publicity during the investigation team's stay in Qingzhou, severely deal with some troublemakers, carry out self-examination and self-correction activities within the industry, and ensure the overall stability of Qingzhou."
Although he was prepared, Wei Chenfeng couldn't help but feel his heart pounding when he heard the proposal. He clenched his fingers tightly together, his knuckles turning pale from the force, and subconsciously looked at Zhou Yuanting.
"Secretary Xu, Minister Wei's work in the propaganda department over the years has been effective, and has been praised and recognized by the province and other sister cities. We must look at cadres dialectically, not generalize, nor can we take things out of context, and we can't just kill them with one blow for making a small mistake. There is a saying in Qingzhou that goes, the more you do, the more mistakes you make, and if you don't do anything, you won't make any mistakes. If this continues, who will dare to do anything and serve the people?" Zhou Yuanting had already torn his face with Xu Fuyan, so he naturally wouldn't be polite when speaking, and he responded with Xu Fuyan's words just now. Xu Fuyan smiled coldly and said, "Although I have been in Qingzhou for a short time, I have heard how the people describe the municipal party committee and government. What is meant by dogs carrying water, cats boiling pots, rabbits washing hands and making nests, and mice opening doors? It makes me laugh to death. The capable ones will rise and the mediocre ones will fall. We can no longer be idlers and let the people point at our spines and scold us!"
These words hit home, and everyone was embarrassed. Xu Fuyan continued: "Mayor Zhou has a different opinion, so let's vote by raising hands. The minority must obey the majority. Those who agree with my proposal, please raise your hands!"
First it was Niu Guiqing, then Feng Wenxue, then Liu Hongjian. Yang Guangsheng, who had been taking notes, stopped writing and raised his right hand. Chen Fei, the political commissar of the Qingzhou Military Sub-district who was attending the meeting, abstained as expected.
It was five votes, and the atmosphere in the meeting room had reached its peak. Zhou Yuanting suddenly felt a palpitation in his heart, and felt a sense of danger for no reason at all, but he didn't know why.
On his left, Bai Changqian, who was sitting next to him, slowly raised his hand.